Ice-sawing machine.



C. B. GIPSON.

ICE SAWING MACHINE.Y

APPLICATION msn AuG.3, 191e.

1,245,899. Patented Nov. 1917.

INVENTR ATTORNEY CHARLES B. GrPsoN., or rnANKtonr, soUrH DAKOTA.

ICE-'SAWHIG MAG'HINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 6, 1917.

Application yfiled August 3, 1916. Serial No. 113,000.

To ZZ whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLs B. GirsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Frankfort, in the county of Spink and State of South Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Ice- Sawing Machines, of which the following isa specification. Y

This invention relates to an improvement -in ice sawing machines and more particularlyyto such machines as are adapted'for use upon an ice field for cutting the ice in suchl a way that it maybe divided up into cakes or blocks whichvcan he more readily handled and packed. 1

An object of my invention resides iny providing a machine of the nature set forth which will follow a guiding kerf cut across the ice eld or will operate to cut a lrerf and which will be automatically moved forward to travel over the field as the saws cut into the ice.

A further object is to provide saw actuating means which is so arranged that adjustment may be made to vary the strokes ofthe saw, and with which the main cutting saw as well as the kerfl marker may be moved to inoperative relations when the machine is being transported or moved from one location to another.

A still further object lies in providing a gang of saws, namelv two or more saws, which will be operated in successive rotation so that the load upon the power plant will be at all times maintained substantially constant, and to provide cooperating means acting with the saws to cut a guiding ke'rf therefor. f

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter set forth in connection with the drawings and then more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings: v

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a machine constructed afterv the manner of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the structure.

'Fig'. 3 is a fragmentary detail view to better show parts of the operating mecha nism. s

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view showing the means for adjusting the korting saws.

Fig. 5 is a detail view illustrating a chltch the ice they will hold the machine against side slipping or skidding and at the saine time are made of suchiformthat they may be received in prior kerfs formed 'over the surL face of the field to guide the course of travel ofthe machine during the sawing operation. The supporting standards 5 lare mounted at opposite sides ofthe machine adjacent to one end thereof, and adjacent to the opposite end of the supporting base structure or frame, an internal combustion engine o,V or'other suitable 'power plant is mounted. Itis perhaps desirable that an ternal combustion engine be used the power unit for this machine, for the reason that such a power unit. can be economically operated and fuel for the can be ob-1 tained in practically any location.

A rocking arm 7 is 'mounted pivotally at its lower end on each'side of the supporting' base structure 1 and at its vupper end cons nected with a walking beam member S to be capable of pivotal swinging movement, ice saws 9' being pivotally connected as at 10 with the free end of thesewallfiig bea-ni members 8, e

A power transmission shaft 11 is mount ed in suitable bearings provided adjacent to the upright supporting standards 5, and a belt 1Q is led over a belt'pulley 13 on the engine shaft and over a; pulley 14 on the power transmission shaft 11 so that vwhen the engine is operated this shaft will be turned at substantially the saine speed thereA with. An operating; shaft 15 is niountedbe-` tween the upright snpportingstandards 5 to extend transversely across the machine and a gear wheel 16 thereon is in meshv with av pinion 17 on the powerl transmission shaft 11, rotary movement being` thus transmitted to the operating shaft' 15,

'The shaft 15 hasthe oppositely disposed'V crank arms 17 and 18, asis bettergshown in Fig. o, and pitrnan rods i9 andZO' are con-y netted from the wrist 'pin carried loyr these crank arms and have pivotal connection as at 21 with the walking beams 3 and The pitman rods 19 and 2O are extended past the pivotal connection at 21 with the walking beams and the free upper -endsrare passed through slide bearings 23 carried by the upright supporting standards 5, and thus as the operating shaft 15 is rotated and movement is imparted to the pitman rods 19 and 20, the walking beams 8 and 22 will be given up and down swinging movement on the four carrying ends around the pivotal mounting with the rocking arms 7, and at the sametime due to the fact that the pitman rods 19 and 2O are held by the slide bearings 23, the walking beams 8 and 22 will be given swinging movement forwardly and backwardly with the. pivotal mounting of the rocking levers 7 on the base structure 1 as the swinging center.

The ice saws 9 and 24 are connected with the outer ends of the walking beams S and 22, and as has been hereinbefore stated the saws are pivotally mounted on the walking beams so that they will be capable of swinginG" movement. Coil springs 25 and 26 are connected between the toothed edO'es of the saws 9 Vand 24: and the walking beams 3 and 22 respectively, and thus the saws are resiliently drawn or swung toward the supporting base structure. As the engine is operated and turning movement is transmitted to the operating shaft 15, the arrangement of the parts as hereinbefore set forth will causo the walking beams Sand 22 to be given a forward and back swinging movement and at the same time to be rocked at their outer ends in a substantially vertical path, and due to the fact that the saws 9 and 2Ll depend from these walking beams 8 and and are held drawn inwardly by the coil springs 25 and 2G, as the saws are reciprocated and given the swinging movement, they will perform a very eliicient cutting path of movement.

A shaft 27 is mounted across the forward part of the machine to be placed low down on the base structure 1, and this shaft is held in the adjustable hearings 28, the height of which may be regulated through the swiveled adjusting screws 29. A belt 30 is connected from the engine shaft to this shaft 27, and thus as the engine is operated turning movement is transmitted'to the shaft 27. Korting saws are so arranged that the blade edges 4 of the shoes or runners 2 and 3 are in line therewith. As the bearings 2Sy are adjusted suiiiciently low down that the kerling saws 31 and 32 extend below the base frame structure 1, and the machine is moved forwardly while the engine is in operation, these lrerfing saws 31 and 32 will cut into the ice and will form a straight draw mark or lrerf in which the runners 2 and 8 mayslide to guide the course of travel helicase@ of the machine and to insure that straight cuts are made into the ice. lt is not the intention that the lfzeri'ing saws 31 and 32 shall exert any acti'on'toy propel Vthe machine, and for that matter the action of the saws 9 and 2a would normally tend to move the machine as an entirety baclrwardly, however, a handle 33 may be provided on the forv end of the machine and by the use of this handle the entire structure may be slid bodily over the ice field and may 1 e movedto anyv desired location. lll/hilo the handle 33 may be used for the initial placing of the machine and perhaps under some circumstances for insuring` that the machine is given forward propulsion, it desirable that some means be provided whereby the machine will be constantly and automatically moved forwardly during the normal cuttingoperation and will be carried at such a rate of speed that the saws will out into the ice as rapidly as the machine is moved. To accomplish this forward travel of the machine, l provide the long curved dogs 34; which arekprovided with sharp ends and are pivotally mounted on the rocking arms or levers 7, as is better shown in Fig. l. As the rocking arms or levers 7 are given forward 'and back swinging movement around their pivotal mounting on the base structure 1, these spurs 3d will be drawn forwardly and will then be carried rearwardly, and due to the fact that the spur ends thereof are embedded in the ice by this backward movenient, the machine will be slid ormoved forward slightly with each back swinging stroke of rocking arms or levers i'. As has been set forth above, it is preferable that the crank arms 17 and 1S by which the walking beam-fs 8 and 22 are actuated be oppositely disposed, and in this way the strain upon the ong'ne in the sawing operation is more evenly distributed and at the saine time the machine v ill be given snbsta-nti ally continuous Yforward propulsion.

llVhen the machine is to be moved from one locality to another or is to be brought to a new location on the ice field, the saws 9 and 24 may be swung around their pivotal mounting at 10 on the walking beams S and 22 and the springs 25 andv 26 will then hold these saws in the raised and swung back position with the teeth disposed upwardly, and also by manipulationV of the adjusting screws 29, the shaft 27 can be raised suticiently that the lrerng saws 31 and 32 are in the inoperative relation. Under some circumstances it may be found desirable to clear out the parts transmitting movement to the operating shaft 15, ano in Fig. F l have illustrated a clutch which might be embodied with the transmission from the shaft 11. As here shown, the pinion 17 is loose on the shaft 11 and a clutch member 35 is arranged to conneet the pinion to rotate with the shaft, a

kerf marksmade across the ice field by the.

use of a horse drawn or other kerling saw or marker. The engine 6 is started and the ice saws 9 and 24 are swung down tothe operative relation as are alsov the curved dogs 34. As motion is transmitted to the operating shaft 15, the saws 9 and-24 will be actuated and the dogs 34 will be swung or movedbackwardly and forwardly to cause forward propulsion of the machine so that thev saws will at all times be cutting into the ice. There the kerfing saws 31 and 32 are used, these saws will cut a kerf or mark in advance of the runners 2 and 3 and as the blades 4E of these runners are fitted in the kerf marks, the machine will be guided so that the sawing will be in a straight path. Y

lVhile I have herein shownand described only one specific form of the device, it will be understood that changes and modifications might be resorted to in the form and arrangement of the various parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, `and hence I do 'not wish to be limited to the exact disclosure but only to such points as may be set forth in the claims.

I claim:V l l. An ice saw comprising a supporting base structure, a frame structure mounted on the base structure, a power unit carried by the base structure, a rocking arm pivotally mounted at one end of the base structure, a walking beam mounted on the free end of said rocking arm, a crank operating shaft, a'pitrnan from the crank operating shaft to the walking beam held in a slide bearing at its outer end, a saw connected with the free end of the walking beam, and a power transmitting connection from the power unit to the operating shaft. g

2. An ice saw comprising a supporting structure to be moved over an ice field, a rocking arm pivotally mounted low down on the base structure, a walking beam adj ustably connected with the free end of said operating arm, a crank operating shaft, a slide bearing provided on the upper part of the supporting structure, a pitman connected from the crank operating shaft and extending through said slide bearing, a connection fromV the pitman to the walking beam, a saw connected with the free end of the walking beam, and means to turn the operating shaft.

3. An ice saw comprising a supporting structure to be moved over an ice eld, a rocking arm pivotally mounted low down on the Abase structure, a walking beam adjustably connected with the free end of saidoperating arm, a crank operating shaft, a slide bearing provided on the upper partof the supporting structure, a pitman connected from the crank operating shaftand extending through said slide ,bearingg a connection from the pitman to the walking beam, a saw connected with the free end of the wallnngbeam, means to turn the operating shaft, and means cmnected with the 'rockin-g arm to engage with the ice and cause step by .step adi/'ancing movement of the supporting structure as the rocking arm is swung through turning of the operating shaft.

4. An ice saw comprising a supporting structure to be moved over an ice field, a rocking arm pivotally mounted low down on the base structure, a walking beam adjustably connected with the free end of said operating arm, a crank operating shaft, a slide bearing provided on the upper part of the supporting structure, a pitman connected from the crank operating shaft and eX- Itending through said 'slide bearing, a connection from the pitman to the walking beam, a saw connected with thefree end of the walking beam, means to turn the operating shaft, and means associated with the rocking arm to hold the supporting structure on the operative stroke of the saw and to impart step by step advancing movement to the supporting structure upon the upward strokes of the saw.

5. An ice cutting machine comprising a supporting base structure, an upright frame structure mounted adjacent one end of the supporting base structure, a power unit mounted on the base structure adjacent the opposite end, a pair of rocking arms pivotally mounted on the base structure adjacent the upright frame structure, walking beams adjustably connected with said swinging arms at their free ends, saws mounted. on the outer ends of the walking beams, a crank operating shaft having the cranks thereof extended in opposite directions, pitman rods connected from said cranks to the walking beams, slide bearings by which the upper ends of the pitman rods are held to have movement in a fixed relation and to cause rocking movement of the rocking arms, and a power connection from the power unit to the operating shaft to cause turning thereof during operation of the engine.

6. An ice cutting machine comprisinga supporting base structure, an upright frame structure mounted adjacent lone end of the supporting base structure, a power unit mounted on the base structure adjacent the opposite end, a pair of rocking arms pivotally mounted on the base structure adjacent the upright frame structure, walking beams adjustably connected with said swinging arms at their free ends, saws mounted on the outer ends of the walking beams, a crank operating shaft having the cranks thereof extended in opposite directions, pitman rods connected from said cranks to the walking beams, slide bearings by which the upper ends of the pitman rods are held t0 havemovement in a fixed relation and to cause rocking movement of the rocking' arms, a power connection from the power unit to the operating shaft to cause turning thereof during operation of the engine, and dogs carried by said rocking arms above the pivotal mounting thereof on the base structure to engage with the ice as these arms are 15 rocked and to consequently cause forward propulsion of the machine. n

ln testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES B. GIPSON.

Witnesses A. W. REFUEM, F. M. KUHNS.

Gopes of this patent max,1 ne obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

